[name] Down for the Count
[description] The latest Treasury Report submitted to your office has a small problem -- the calculations are completely illegible. After apologizing profusely, your Treasury Minister explains that it was submitted prematurely still containing his Department's in-house numerical shorthand. It turns out that every governmental department uses their own system separate from the official @@DEMONYM@@ number line to speed up even the most basic of computations. As your office becomes adrift in a dizzying maze of unfamiliar mathematical symbols, the question must be asked -- is the nation's current numeral system too unwieldy?
[option] "The current system is totally counterintuitive", grumbles Budget Chief Uma Uno, pointing to the @@DEMONYM@@ symbol for 'One'. "Make one wrong line at the top and you suddenly end up with 'Thirty-Four'. How's that supposed to make sense? For the sake of our sanity, let's take a hint from the rest of the world and adopt the tried-and-true '1,2,3' scheme once and for all."
[effect] math teachers can be seen crying tears of joy
[option] "There's still too much room for error," ponders Foreign Minister Erma Ni, waving a pair of rice-stained chopsticks around. "You should take a look at how Dàguó structures their language. Every number is a 'pictograph', meaning there's a visual story behind each symbol. One is '一', a single line. Two is '二', double the fun! Sure, things get a little hairy at '五'(five) through '十'(ten), but afterwards it's all just combinations of these basic pictographs. Seems easy enough to understand if you ask me."
[effect] Daguoren tourists treat @@NAME@@ like a second home
[option] "Why cut out the middleman?" absentmindly asks Culture Minister Tre Trois, painting a color wheel onto your desk. "There's no point in being abstract about it. If we're going to draw pictures, let's be professional about it. For 'two', people can draw a nice painting of a pair of cutlery. For 'five', a life-sized drawing realistic human hand. Addition, subtraction, division -- expression through artistic creativity will be unlimited!"
[effect] elementary level arithmatic requires Renessiance-style artwork
[option] "How dreadfully complex," sneers @@DENOMYM@@ General Quirinus Quattro, curiously clad in a tight-fitting toga. "I have seven letters for you: I,V,X,L,C,D, and M. Using just these symbols, @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ can construct thousands upon thousands of numbers. As I've always said, look to tradition for the most efficient way to get things done."
[effect] marking a decimal can accidently construct a new sentence
[validity] nations must have AI
[option] "Is efficiency the word of the day?" inquires supercomputer PAL 5000, buzzing through an intercom. "Using only the binary system of 0 and 1's afforded to me, I can effortlessly calculate complex derivations in a matter of milliseconds. Given such speed, perhaps the common citizen might similarly benefit from such a system. If anything, I would be interested in seeing the results of such an experiment."
[effect] the length of collegiate calcuations quickly exceeds the irrational
[option] "My age must be catching up to me," opines your grandmother, quietly knitting in a corner of the room. "All of this seems so exhausting. My own personal bookkeeping method keeps track of values using knots of yarn. I believe there was an ancient culture who did something similar, and guess what--it's actually efficient! I'd love for more @@DEMONYMPLURAL@@ carry on such a unique tradition, preserving the knowledge of their elders."
[effect] Underwater Basket Weaving is a required course for accounting majors
I still think it's a fun little concept to have a nation officially codify their numeral system, but the description seems to have blown the whole shebang up right now. Maybe I'll go with the 'Govt. found old document' approach that some of the original suggestions touched upon.